guile

[ gahyl ]

noun

1. insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.

   Synonyms: craft, fraud, trickery

guile

/ ɡaɪl /

noun

1. clever or crafty character or behaviour

Derived Forms

• ˈguilefully, adverb
• ˈguileful, adjective
• ˈguilefulness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of guile¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Germanic; akin to wile

Word History and Origins

Origin of guile¹

C18: from Old French guile, of Germanic origin; see wile

Synonym Study

See duplicity.

Example Sentences

As captain at right-back Smith showed his experience and guile, he was excellent.

From BBC

He seems to have the temperament not to be cowed, the question will be whether he has the skill, guile and craft to do the job that will be required.

From BBC

He was sucked in by the guile of Noman.

From BBC

With “hate and guile the tools of his trade,” he held up bordellos, liquor stores and gas stations.

From Los Angeles Times

The journalist Fred Kaplan, who wrote an essay entitled “The Tarnishing of H.R. McMaster,” stated that I “had been all but incapable of guile” but was “now soaked in the swamp of deceit in the service of Trump.”

From Slate

Related Words

• trickery